Trump Order Makes About 8,000 Senior Federal Employees At-Will
President Trump issued an executive order on June 3, 2026, reclassifying roughly 8,000 federal workers as at-will employees and stripping them of longstanding civil service job protections.[1]
Nearly all affected workers are GS-15s in senior policy, regional leadership, program management, public affairs, and grants and spending oversight roles.[1] The order implements a February 2026 rule that creates a new at-will category called Schedule Policy/Career, a successor to the earlier Schedule F framework.[1]
An earlier Office of Personnel Management estimate said as many as 50,000 positions could ultimately be moved into the new category, though the administration has not ruled out future expansion.[1] Lawsuits challenging the underlying rule, including one filed by Democracy Forward, were already pending when the order specified which jobs would be reclassified.[1]
The order immediately changes who can be fired without the usual civil service procedures, raising questions about politicizing career senior managers and about how federal programs will be overseen.
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📌 Key Facts
- On June 3, 2026, President Trump issued an executive order reclassifying roughly 8,000 federal workers as at-will employees.
- Nearly all affected workers are GS-15s in senior policy, regional leadership, program management, public affairs, and grants and spending oversight roles.
- The order operationalizes a February 2026 rule creating a new at-will category called Schedule Policy/Career, a successor to the earlier Schedule F framework.
- An earlier Office of Personnel Management estimate suggested as many as 50,000 positions could ultimately be moved into this category, though the administration has not ruled out future expansion.
- Lawsuits, including one by Democracy Forward, were already pending against the underlying rule before the executive order specified which jobs are reclassified.
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